Monday, 28 January 2013

Continuing the story of the Coledale horseshoe walk that went wrong :)

the First part ended with the group at the base of Grasmoor , we started climbing up the steep slope which was icy with a frozen crust on the snow.

a breath taking view of the Helvelyn range in the distance.

icy slopes and superb views :D

we made our way up towards the first summit cairn which was where all the fun began :)

just as i got to the summit , almost last as i was taking loads of pics on these slopes, i had just shot this wonderful image WHEN!

It was brownie time, Dave took the box from Gina , handed the first to Tanya then a cry "my phone" was heard as Gina's beloved i-phone in its Shiny red case slipped from her hand and started its very own imitation of a bob sleigh heading down the steep slope towards impending Death!
Dave immediately started running/sliding after it, unfortunately he was still grasping the box of brownies! surely more important than the phone at this moment in time :0 "Don't drop the brownies Dave" rang out , everyone was in fits of laughter as Dave disappeared down the slope amazingly without falling. Gina shouted , "it wont get over the ridge Dave" just as it flew over the ridge and picked up speed :D
it was at this point Tanya noticed that she had the only brownie that might be left , and was thinking of departing fast in case we all wanted it hehe

eventually , much to every ones amazement Dave caught up with the phone and with a flying leap TROD on it! with hands aloft in triumph :D

unfortunately , a few brownies escaped at this point and started sliding down the slope also!
Dave picks up the escapee brownies animation click Picking up brownies

as you can see in this image, Dave actually travelled a long way!

after the brownies had been retrieved, eaten and much laughter rang out around the fells, the group split, half of us started heading towards Grasmoor summit, while the others headed towards Wandope in Tanya's case and Eel Crag the others. i took the opportunity of shooting the small cairn we where at with its magnificent backdrop. Skiddaw on the left and the Helvelyn range to the right.

as we started walking towards the summit, the path, well what might have been a path under the snow .was on a very steep slope and Sian decided it was a little too tricky and decided to turn back and head towards Eel Crag with Paul where we will all meet later. it was a bit scary actually , i shot this image looking back at the others behind me ,as you can see, it is a steep slope that i don't think any of us would make it back up if slipped! and yes, Steve did slip and laughed nervously :D

any how we have all negotiated this section and realised the top is completely flat! why on earth didn't we just take this easy route? Doh!

here is Gina on Grasmoor summit plateau with an ice sculpture and Crummock water

superb views from here ,Skiddaw at the back and Grisedale pike left front , yes that's the pike we should have climbed if we had taken the correct path out of car park Oooops!

Heading back now across the flat top, someone commented that we were all spread out like mercenaries in a James bond film ! hehe

Playing in the snow :) "snow angel"

Gina,Dave,Steve & myself are now heading up the slopes of Wandope , looks wonderful all the pristine snow :) while the rest of our group are heading straight up to Eel crag to join the others . we have to "Bag" the Wainwright after all .

love how the light catches the humps. heading towards the summit now, its only a short detour then we can head over to Eel Crag to meet the others.

great views over to the Scafells from here

Finally we have reached the summit , only the second all day! Ooops but that doesn't matter in conditions like these with amazing views . my fav image of the day

what the.............................

looking at Eel Crag from Wandope, the ridge right of centre that evidently we have to traverse to get to the next summit "Sail" over to the right.

heading across towards the Eel Crag path now , i remarked how crusty the surface was and how everyone was crunching through it except me being so light , when i crunched through a deep bit and ended flat out in the snow ! Oops so funny. luckily no one snapped a pic . in the image below ,Grasmoor is on the left where we where earlier and we are now heading right up the steep slope to Eel crag now to meet the rest of the group.

great skies :)

walking up the final steep slope to the summit we have super views of the Scafells :)

Tuesday, 15 January 2013

I am going to introduce you all to my new companion, Molly an 8 month old border collie . her owner had to find new homes for her & her sister Meg i would like to say many thanks to David for letting me have her, she will have a great life with me . she is fast asleep while i am typing this after today's adventure. while i am knackered!
after seeing the snowdon web cam early this morning and all the fresh snow i just had to go :)
i will leave all the non Mol pictures for another blog when i catch up with a few previous ones.
arriving at the view point overlooking Llynnau Mymbyr the view over the lakes to Snowdon was wonderful :)

a quick drive and i was negotiating the steep snow covered road up to Pen-y-Pass car park ( £5 for 4 hours, robbing barstewards! ) cant believe it hadn't been gritted as was treacherous! i decided to take Molly along the easy "Miners path" past the lower lakes and then up to the top lake "Glaslyn"

loads of fresh snow, Mol hasn't seen it before and soon started eating loads haha the path is very good to walk on and the views are stunning, especially in the snow. here is the "Molster " with the pen-y-pass road in the distance .

i could not leave her on the lead for long, no distractions up here and she stayed fairly close all day , regularly stopping and turning around as if to say "hurry up wont you! "

amazing views , love it when in its winter coat :) Molly was running and leaping all over the place

airborn legs :D

this is the path you can see winding its way towards Snowdon in the distance.left of centre

she is admiring the stunning view :)

run Mol, run!

love this view :) looking over Llyn Tayrn to snowdon

snowy nose HA!

Hurry up please!

we are at Llyn Llydaw now , which has a stone causeway across the middle of the lake and old mine buildings on the far side.

i have crossed over the causeway and am now heading up to the top lake now, love blue sky and snow :)

come on, get a move on i think she is thinking :) Up the steep path towards Glaslyn

isn't she lovely :D

we have reached Glaslyn now, have got some great shots with a superb sky, but they will be in a later blog :)

looking back from where we have walked, what a view!

there she is, haha , never goes to far away from me, which is great

the cloud has come down now and a few flakes are falling, light has gone so making way back down now. it has been a fantastic day , managed to take some superb images (without molster in ) they will be in another blog . ok, where is her head?????????? lol

crossing the causeway in fast clouding over sky , i made the most of the good light this morning so cant complain.

she had a great day, must have walked 10 times the distance i did lol guess i have fallen in love with her already :) a superb companion. the first of many adventures, snow always makes for a superb day, and seeing her run and leap like a gazelle all over the place was so funny. she loved it even when she sank up to her belly in a deep soft pocket of snow hehe

LINKS

Dedication

This blog would not have been possible without the help, advice and friendship of Gillian Thompson, this young lady has been the inspiration for me and i dont think i could have done this without her help.

Phil

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About Me

Welcome to Phils photographic adventures.
My name is Phil, i have been shooting landscapes for about 10 years + ,and macro since 2008.
I live on the wirral, cheshire, uk. within easy reach of snowdonia national park and the cumbrian lake district.
I mainly shoot macro through summer, then landscapes through autumn - spring.